The Exeter Underground Passages: A Half-Hour Below the High Street
Step off the High Street into a doorway by Princesshay, descend a flight of stone steps and within a minute you are walking through a tunnel built to carry fresh water to the cathedral close in the 14th century. The Exeter Underground Passages are the only network of their kind in England that the public can actually walk through. There are no Roman aqueducts to compete with here, but there is something very particular about a city that built itself a medieval plumbing system and then left it intact under the shopping streets.
Here is what to expect on a tour, how to book and what 2026 visitors need to know.
What the passages actually are
The passages were not for smuggling, not for escape and not for anything more sinister than supplying drinking water. From the 13th and 14th centuries onwards, the cathedral authorities and later the city brought spring water in from outside the walls through lead pipes. Those pipes needed maintenance, and rather than digging up roads every time a leak appeared, the builders constructed stone-vaulted tunnels around the pipes so that workmen could climb in and fix them.
What survives is a network of low, narrow, surprisingly dry tunnels under the city centre, with sections dating from the medieval period right through to the Victorians, who extended the system. Most of the original lead piping has gone. The tunnels remain.
How the tour works
You cannot wander the passages on your own. Access is by guided tour only, which is a good thing: you would lose people in there in about five minutes otherwise. Tours run roughly every half hour during opening hours from the visitor centre on Paris Street, which sits right on the edge of Princesshay close to the Exeter Bus Station entrance. The whole experience takes about 45 minutes from check-in to surface, with the underground portion lasting roughly 25 to 30 minutes.
The visit starts with a short video and a small free-entry exhibition that explains what the passages were and how they were built. Then a guide takes you down. You will be issued a hard hat (mandatory, with reason; expect a few duck-under-the-stone moments). The tunnels are narrow, low in places and dimly lit. They are not pitch black but they are atmospheric.
2026 ticket prices and when to book
For 2026 the ticket prices sit in the region of seven pounds fifty for an adult, five pounds for a child and six pounds for a senior or student, with family tickets available. Prices are reviewed by Exeter City Council so check before travelling. Online booking is now available via the Exeter City Council Underground Passages page and is strongly recommended.
Tours fill up quickly, especially during school holidays, Saturdays and the run-up to Christmas. If you are visiting in summer or at half term, book a few days ahead. Walk-up tickets are sold subject to availability.
Suitability: kids, claustrophobia, accessibility
The tour is recommended for children aged five and up, though younger kids who are happy in dark, narrow spaces can be fine. The guides are good with primary-age children and there is plenty for them to enjoy: trapdoors, light tricks, the chance to find Roman pottery fragments embedded in the wall.
If you have a strong dislike of enclosed spaces, this is not the tour for you. The passages are tight in places, particularly one short stretch where you walk almost bent double. There is no shame in skipping it; the surface exhibition is genuinely interesting on its own.
Accessibility is limited by the nature of the building. The visitor centre and the exhibition are step-free and accessible. The underground section involves stairs, low headroom and uneven floors and is not suitable for wheelchairs or buggies. If anyone in your group cannot do the underground section, they can stay in the surface exhibition while the rest of you go down.
Practical tips
- Wear flat shoes. The floors are uneven and damp in places. Avoid heels.
- Wear a layer. The tunnels stay around 12 to 14 degrees year round, which is welcome in August and not so welcome in February.
- Leave the buggy at the visitor centre. Staff will look after it.
- Carry hands-free if you have a baby. Slings are fine, prams are not.
- Allow extra time around tour start. Arrive ten minutes early to collect your ticket and join the briefing.
Where to go next
The passages are an unusual half hour rather than a half day. Build them into a wider central Exeter loop. The visitor centre puts you within five minutes of Princesshay and Exeter’s Shopping Scene for an afternoon’s wander, and ten minutes from Cathedral Green for the Exeter Cathedral visitor guide. If you are doing a longer trip, slot the passages into our Perfect Weekend in Exeter itinerary on day two morning.